Rain halts Cook charge

HEAVY rain called a halt to England's clash with a South African invitational XI at East London today. England had recovered from the early losses of captain Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott to reach 97 for three by lunch, on the back of a half-century stand between Alastair Cook (66no) and Kevin Pietersen. Cook completed a 96-ball 50 with his seventh boundary before the weather broke dramatically.

HEAVY rain called a halt to England's clash with a South African invitational XI at East London today.

England had recovered from the early losses of captain Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott to reach 97 for three by lunch, on the back of a half-century stand between Alastair Cook (66no) and Kevin Pietersen.

Cook completed a 96-ball 50 with his seventh boundary before the weather broke dramatically.

He and Paul Collingwood had just completed another 50 stand - with the score on 142 for three - when thundery rain stopped play.

Heavy rain persisted and no further play was possible, with officials calling it off late this afternoon.

Strauss had won the toss on a sunny morning, but batting was a struggle initially in this two-day fixture against a South African Invitational XI - for whom ex-Northamptonshire seamer Charl Pietersen bagged two wickets with the new ball.

Strauss managed only a single, and new batting find Trott was gone too by the ninth over.

Strauss pushed out at one that bounced a little more than expected, and the edge was collected by Mangaliso Mosehle.

Trott was immediately under way with England's opening boundary from the first ball he faced, guided between slips and gully off Pietersen.

Chance

But when he tried to drive the same bowler soon afterwards, he too edged behind.

That gave Kevin Pietersen another chance to put a first big score in the book before next week's first Test - as he continues his return from four months out after Achilles surgery.

The South Africa-born batsman might have had an lbw scare first ball, had his namesake not over-stepped, and also had a close call when he involuntarily inside-edged a single past leg-stump off first change David Wiese on eight.

Pietersen was clearly prepared to be patient as he tried to get a foothold, and had to wait for his first boundary - a 'gimme' full toss smashed past extra-cover off Wiese - to bring up the 50 partnership.

Cook, by contrast, had already fed off some unwise short-pitched deliveries from Siya Ntshono on a sluggish surface.

The left-handed opener soon began to drive as well as pull with authority, and Kevin Pietersen joined in too before lunch.

It was unjust reward for Pietersen's hard work when an unremarkable ball from Wiese stopped on him as he shaped to make runs off the back foot and instead fell to a one-handed return catch high to the seamer's right.